The background description includes information that may be useful in understanding the present invention. It is not an admission that any of the information provided in this application is prior art or relevant to the presently claimed invention, or that any publication specifically or implicitly referenced is prior art.
While many devices exist in the field of modular eyewear, there has yet to exist a device that accomplishes simple disassembly, which achieves, e.g., simple changing of lenses, and re-assembly, in a manner that minimizes the number of parts that may be lost during disassembly and re-assembly and has other advantages that will become apparent in this application.
U.S. Pat. No. 9,454,017, for example, is directed to modular eyewear adapted to quickly release. But the disclosure includes lenses that require a specialized slot to quickly decouple, as well as a decoupling mechanism that includes many parts not designed to enable decoupling without specialized tools or in non-ideal environments. Further, the coupling of the temple frame pieces in the '017 Patent's disclosure are not described to audibly snap, thus failing to provide a human assembler with auditory feedback to confirm assembly.
U.S. Patent Publication No. 2009/0195747 describes temple holders each having recesses formed in the holders that are hinged to the extreme ends of an eyeglass front. This publication fails to teach a fully modular eyewear frame, and also fails to teach a magnetic male end on the temple frame that affixes to a female end on the upper eyewear frame, which enables a hingeless modular eyewear design and, even in cases where a design may include hinges, reduces the wear and tear caused by operating the hinge. Other teachings lacking in this patent publication are evident by comparison to the present invention.
As another example, U.S. Patent Publication No. 2014/0104562, describes affixing a temple frame to the eyewear frame through special design of a hinge. This publication, too, fails to teach a fully modular eyewear frame, and also fails to teach a magnetic male end on the temple frame that affixes to a female end on the upper eyewear frame, which enables a hingeless modular eyewear design and, even in cases where a design may include hinges, reduces the wear and tear caused by operating the hinge. Other teachings lacking in this patent publication are evident by comparison to the present invention.
Thus, the background materials discussed in this application fail to teach or suggest a fully modular eyewear apparatus. For example, the background materials fail to teach a main eyewear frame comprising an upper and a lower portion configured to magnetically couple to affix a lens. Other teachings lacking in the background materials are evident by comparison to the present invention. The invention described in this application provides several advantages over the prior art, including, e.g., enabling reduced wear and tear through elimination or lower use of mechanical hinges, greater customizability, improved user experience, and improved assembly and disassembly.
The foregoing discussion is for background purposes only; it is not an admission that any aspect of the background is prior art.